Preview: Bruins look to tighten defensive game against Lightning

NHL: NOV 20 Bruins at Lightning
Photo by Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Time to bounce back.

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7:00 PM

Where: TD Garden — Boston, Mass.

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Opposing SB Nation site: RawCharge

Know your enemy

  • 19-16-5, 43PTS, 4th in the Atlantic Division
  • Nikita Kucherov: 27G-37A-64PTS; Brayden Point: 17G-23A-40PTS; Victor Hedman: 6G-33A-39PTS
  • Jonas Johansson: 9-6-5, 3.45 GAA, .891 save percentage; Andrei Vasilevskiy: 9-8-0, 2.83 GAA, .902 save percentage

Game notes

  • The Boston Bruins look to bolster their defensive game as they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to the TD Garden tonight.
  • Despite scoring five goals on Thursday, the Bruins spent most of the time on the defensive in their 6-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They’ll look to clean their game up in what’s sure to be another challenging game for the Black and Gold.
  • The Bruins last saw the Lightning on Nov. 21, dropping 5-4 to them in overtime. It was a back and forth game with different lead changes — especially in the third period.
  • The B’s saw Johansson in the game. He made 23 saves. Jeremy Swayman was the one who last started against the Lightning. With Jim Montgomery’s goalie rotation, never mind Thursday’s game, we will likely see Linus Ullmark between the pipes tonight.
  • Matt Poitras returned yesterday and skated in the optional practice. Jim Montgomery told reporters they haven’t made a decision when he’ll see game action yet, as Poitras is still adjusting to the time change and whatnot. But they will begin integrating him back into the swing of things.
  • The Lightning are 2-3-0 in their last five games. They last played on Thursday when they beat Minnesota Wild, 4-1. For the Lightning, Kucherov has seven points in his last five games while Hedman has five assists in his last five games.
  • Tampa Bay recalled defensemen Jack Thompson and Emil Lilleberg yesterday as the team deals with some injuries on their backend.
  • The Bruins and Lightning are pretty evenly matched when it comes to their power play and penalty kill. The Lightning are at 29.9% on the PP while the Bruins are 27.0%. On the PK, the Bruins have the advantage at 85.5%.
  • Bruins’ injury updates: Derek Forbort was spotted practicing the other day. Still, no word on what’s going on with him. He hasn’t played since Dec. 3, 2023.
  • For the Bruins, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak continue to do their thing. Marchand now has two goals and six assists in his last six games while Pastrnak has four goals and six assists in the same time.
  • See ya tonight!

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